No More "One Size Fits All" Outreach

In the 1990s, Mark Mittelberg, Lee Strobel, and Bill Hybels—wrote a book and curriculum called Becoming a Contagious Christian. The message in this book is that every follower of Jesus is uniquely gifted with a particular evangelistic style that fits them and can make the work of outreach natural and enjoyable. These leaders sounded the trumpet and told the church that a one-size-fits-all approach to evangelism was not working. Consider these different approaches:

Confrontational Approach

In Acts 2, the apostle Peter stands up and gives us a great example of the confrontational style of evangelism. "With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, 'Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.' Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day" (Acts 2:40-41).

An Intellectual Approach

Some Christians will discover that the way they evangelize naturally is by using an intellectual style. The apostle Paul is an example of this. In Acts 17, we read of how he reasoned with people in the places of worship as well as in the cultural and intellectual centers of his time. Paul was a student of the Scriptures and of culture. He was comfortable presenting a rational, thoughtful, and compelling case for faith.

A Testimonial Approach

In the Gospel of John, we find a surprising example of a testimonial style of evangelism. A man who has been blind from birth is healed by Jesus and places his faith in the Savior. When he is questioned about what happened, he speaks these words: "One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!" (John 9:25). This man did not have a confrontational spirit or intellectual answers. What he had was his story of how Jesus had touched him and changed his life. This is what he communicated to those who asked him about Jesus.

An Interpersonal Approach

Many of Christ's followers discover that their evangelism style is built on the ability to relate with others, connect people, and extend authentic love. This interpersonal style is modeled by Matthew in the New Testament. When Matthew became a believer, he realized he had two different relational worlds. He had all of his old friends, who were tax collectors, prostitutes, and sinners (Matthew clearly had a rough past), but he also had a new group of friends, a bunch of Christians that included Jesus and his disciples. Matthew exercised his interpersonal approach to evangelism by pulling both groups together at a big party in his home (Luke 5:27-32). This made perfect sense to Matthew because his natural style of evangelism was the interpersonal approach.

An Invitational Approach

In every church, there are people who thrive on inviting people to places where they can learn more about Jesus. This could be a dinner party with some believing friends, a church service, a Christian concert, a neighborhood small group, or anyplace where the message of Jesus is lifted up. In the Gospel of John, we meet a woman who had this style of evangelism. She had met Jesus and had been transformed by his message of truth, his grace, and his love. In response to this life-changing encounter, she "went back to the town and said to the people, 'Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?'" (John 4:29) and many came to meet Jesus. Her invitation impacted the whole community because she dared to extend an invitation. What is even more shocking is that this woman was a social outcast. Yet her invitation flowed naturally because this was the unique way God had designed her to share her faith.

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